Calligraphy

The art of hat, meaning line in Arab is the art of calligraphy for Arab letters in accordance with certain esthetic rules. Calligraphy which is described as “a spiritual geometry produced by the use of materials” has firstly appeared after the Arabic letters went through a period of improvement between the 6th and the 10th centuries. Turks have presumably started to be interested in the art of hat after migrating to Anatolia. This art field had also reached its golden era during the Ottoman Empire. Hüsn-i hat has improved for many centuries with the tradition of master and apprentice.

First Islam manuscripts were written in the form called the Ma’kilî which later improved to kûfî. There are 6 categories of writings called aklâm-ı sitte (six pens) under the main title of kûfî which is considered the main writing. Those categories are: sülüs, muhakkak, tevkî, reyhânî, rikaa’ and nesih. Other styles are: ta’lîk, divânî, celî dîvânî, rık’a, siyâkat, ma’kılî. After the adoption of the Latin alphabet in 1928, hat was no longer a popular art form but became a traditional art only taught in specific academic institutions.